Strike Witches: The last hope
by sekainokami
Summary: Takes place after s2. A great enemy who was more dangerous than the Neuroi was awaiting for the Strike Witches. Could they change their obscure and painful future? Yuri  non-Hentai  alerted with many pairing. Please read, rate and review. Thanks.
1. Prologue: The end is just the beginning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Strike Witches, this is just my fan fiction. I only claim my own creations.**

**Author's Note: I'm writing this although I just finished watching season 1. Any error will be fixed as soon as I notice them. I will gladly accept all of your criticism.**

**Warning: Ecchi yuri (non-hentai) with many pairing.**

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><p><strong>Prologue: The end is just the begining<strong>

Year 1962, Stalingrad,

The last line of defense for mankind was falling. Hope was dead a long time ago. There was only a shadow reigning over the green planet. Dark clouds were invading the blue sky of Stalingrad. There was no sign of sunlight, even though it was midday.

The Neuroi hives kept advancing upon mankind's last territory. The city of Orussia, which was named after its great Stalin, was at the edge of death, just like how Liberion, Brittania, Fuso or Gallia had already fallen. The mysterious and ruthless Neuroi which took the form of various shapes was swamping the biggest country of the world.

In the sky, the Neuroi were outnumbering mankind's last hope, the Strike Witches. More and more Witches were being killed, their sacrifices in vain as hope was dead. The famous Stalingrad, where the Orussian Witches started their counter strike a long time ago, now remained as ruins. Everything had been incinerated under the energy beams of the Neuroi.

At that time, under the basement where the last defense line's command centre was positioned, the retired Witches were waiting for their coming death. However, they wouldn't wait without hope.

Standing there was an Orussian woman in her thirties. She was once a Witch, however since her Witch's lifespan had ended, she is now an ordinary officer of Orussian Air Force. She just saw off her last hope.

"Have the children gone yet, Orussian Wing Commander Litvyak?" A brown-haired Karlsland woman said as she entered the basement.

"Yes, Karlsland Air Commodore Barkhorn," The Orussian woman replied, " Just hope they will be fine."

"Of course 'em will," Another Karlslander retired witch came in. She had blonde short hair, her giggle seemed mischievous. "You should hope 'em not to be trained by Major Sakamoto. Her 'ell courses will definitely make them love Trude's training."

"Nah, Wing Commander Hartmann," said Gertrud Barkhorn. "I just kept them in form, or they won't survive any battle. I should be strict as Major Sakamoto, but I don't have a firm heart as hers."

"Oi, oi, Trude, why don't you call me "Erica" or "Frau"? Like when we do naugh-…" Before Hartmann could finish her sentence, Gertrud covered the younger Karlslander's mouth.

"Sh-shut up," Barkhorn said as her cheeks turned red.

"Nah," Hartmann continued as she broke away from Gertrud. "You never go easy on Ursula and Chris. Even though they are our daughters…"

"Like you are the one who speaks!" blushing Barkhorn yelled at Hartmann. "That's why Ursula is slacking as you! Luckily that her sister doesn't imitate her!"

"Nah, one Gertrud is enough, but our family has two Trude." Hartmann sighed, as their Orussian friend giggled. "Even Chris scolded at me when I groped her little chest…"

"Is it okay to send them with that Neuroi?" A Romagnian came in, followed her was another woman from Liberion.

"Ah, Romagnian Captain Lucchini," Barkhorn greeted her. "And the Liberion."

"Hey, don't abbreviate me, ya," the Liberion said. "I'm Liberion Major General named Charlotte E. Yeager!"

"Shirley," the Orussian called Litvyak said. "Ruby won't betray us. She has helped us a lot, she even killed her own race. My child, as well as Hartmann's twins and yours daughter will be fine."

"Okay, Sanya," said Shirley. "What did you arm them?"

"Well, old weapons. I also gave my Fliegerhammer to my girl."

"Ha, you had hard time to steal those things from the museum," Lucchini joked. "But to give your daughter the Fliegerhammer is quite a problem. Can she handle it? Just remembering last time she wielded that destroyer could shiver my backbones…"

"I don't know," Sanya sighed. "If Eila had been still alive, we could have trained her together." A drop of tear fell from her cheek, and Sanya started crying. She remembered how Eila died. The Suomi girl sacrificed herself to protect her lover and their baby.

"Hey, stop crying," Hartmann calmed her down. "Everybody will have to die, why should we welcome it with sorrow?"

"She is right," said Barkhorn. "However, I still can't believe that what defeated us wasn't the Neuroi. That was us human…"

"Yes," said Charlotte. "Even Commander Minna was killed by human's greed. If she had been alive, we would have won the Fuso's war, and Perrine with Lynette wouldn't have died either."

"Enough with "if", girls," said Hartmann. "This is our future. We can't change it, but our children will. Their future will be better."

"I wonder if Ruby's plan works," Barkhorn said nervously. "I meant, as she recovered our magic after our Witches' lifespan had lasted but we couldn't win against the Neuroi, how could her plan work?"

"Even our magic had been recovered," said Sanya. "We were still too old to be Witches. Ruby couldn't do anything more, so we shouldn't expect her too much. By the way, she had helped us to bear our children. I think that is enough... Especially for Eila..."

"Okay, enough argueing," Lucchini said. "Our last war is outside. Let's see who could score the most kill, okay?" Then, she picked up a Beretta. "Damn, this thing is heavy without our magic."

"That's why we should only pick submachine guns," said Barkhorn. "I will mount the anti-air outside, since submachine guns are not my taste. What about you, Sanya? Since you gave your daughter the Fliegerhammer."

"I will use Eila's Suomi M1931," said Sanya as she heavily rose the submachine gun.

"Are you ready?" said Charlotte, and other women replied her with nods. "Let's greet the Reaper with some blast, girls!"

The former members of 501st Joint Fighter Wing advanced out the basement. They saw chaos, smoke and ruins everywhere. Their comrades were fighting, and none of the soldiers gave up. On the sky, the last Witches were tired, but they kept flying with impressive willpower.

"Ma'am," an Orussian soldier greeted the retired Witches. "Have our saviors gone yet?"

"Yes," said Gertrud. "Our last hope will bring us the victory. Now we are here to show the Neuroi our strength, even if we has lost our magic. Fire at will, Sergeant!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The fight continued, and even the Neuroi were surrounding the base, the black aliens couldn't advance until the last bullet was fired. Shirley was the first who had fallen, followed by her Romagnian partner. Gertrud and Erica also succumbed to a Neuroi beam as the last Witch had been wiped out.

"I'm coming to you, Eila," said Sanya. "Farewell, my little daughter…"

* * *

><p>Back to August, 1945, Fuso Empire's Kanto Island.<p>

The Fuso people kept amazing the world by their new creations. After Dr. Miyafuji's Striker Units, which brought hope to the mankind in order to strike back Neuroi the invaders, the Fuso continued with another combination of magic and science. The Nagato-class Striker Battleship, which was a flying huge battleship and existed only in folktales, now started her maiden voyage – or maiden flight – on the sky of Fuso. Rumors stated that the Nagato Project had been carried out first by Dr. Miyafuji himself, and after his reported death, the Fuso scientists continued his works.

The Nagato-class Striker Battleship was created to succeed the Yamato-class Battleship, which turned out to be destroyed during the war. It had special generators to turn fuel energy into a special energy that could partially replace magic energy in order to keep the battleship hovering on the air. This special energy could also protect the ship from being neuroified. However, to operate a Nagato-class Striker Battleship, a number of Witches were required. Real magic energy had to be applied to run the generators, while the Captain had to be a strong Witch to easily maneuver such huge vessel. In this case, the Captain of the lead ship of her class was Admiral Yamamoto Yukiko. She was an ace of Fuso Army in the war against the Neuroi along with Major Sakamoto Mio. And the Major also on board of Nagato, participating her maiden flight.

"How is it, Mio-senpai?" Admiral Yamamoto asked her comrade in the command room, addressing Mio as her senior since the Admiral was only 18.

"Well, it is really good," replied Mio. "I'm having back the feeling when I first used the Striker Unit. It was nostalgic then." She turned her face towards Yukiko. "However, Admiral, please don't address me like that. I'm just a Major, and now I don't even have magic."

"Don't sweat it, senpai," giggled Yukiko. "You are the one who helped me all the time, and you are older than me. It is a bad news that you can't fly anymore. But you can be the second-in-command of this battleship. We might need your battle experience, since you are one of the eldest here."

"Then it is a deal," smiled Mio. "I still want to continue fighting against the Neuroi." Then she sighed. "Well, we also have lost a potential Witch…"

"Dr. Miyafuji's daughter, right?" said Yukiko. "She is a strong one. If she still had her magic, she might surpass you."

"Hmm…"

"By the way, if this big girl is a success," Yukiko pointed at the floor of the command room. "We might launch an assault to Karlsland and liberate it. After that, they will continue the Nagato Project by creating carriers. It will be easier for us in this way."

"Well, probably Minna will be glad to hear this," then Mio gave out her usual laugh.

At that time, the young girl named Miyafuji Yoshika was standing at her family's clinic and looking at the flying battleship. She just stood there and stared, then she sighed as she entered her house. After losing magic, Yoshika continued working at her grandmother's clinic with conventional medicine.

"Are you satisfied with that?" someone was standing in her house. There was no one around except Yoshika and the stranger. Yoshika was startled, and then started trembling as she looked at the person in front of her. That was a foreign girl in military uniform, but what drew most attention from Yoshika wasn't that. On her neck there was a small talisman with a familiar crimson, crystal-like object. Yoshika knew what it was, but she couldn't express her words.

"You…"

* * *

><p>That night, on board of Nagato, which was still hovering on the sky of Fuso.<p>

"It seems your big girl is pretty stable," Mio said to Yukiko. "Her first flight is really good."

"You think so?" replied Yukiko. "We will start heading to Kiev soon. We will accompany the Orussian in order to give a blow to the Neuroi there, and continue our advance to Berlin."

"Minna said that the 501st JFW would come too. We will regroup after we push back the Neuroi hive on Orussia."

"Well, since it is late, why don't you have a rest? Nagato's departure is two hours later."

"Then, I will excuse myself, Admiral Yamamoto," Mio smiled at her comrade. "Don't push yourself too hard, we will have a fight tomorrow."

Mio headed to her room as she collapsed on the bed. She had been busy the whole day, so she fell asleep quickly.

"_-jor_," she heard someone said to her. "Hmm?" she replied, her eyes still closed.

"_Major,_"

Mio opened her eyes and saw somebody standing beside her. She recognized a familiar silhouette. It had a form of a normal human, but covered by many black hexagons. That was a Neuroi Witch, as she had seen one last year with Yoshika. Mio tried to grab her katana, but her body seemed too heavy.

"_Rest assured, Major Sakamoto,_" the Neuroi said in monotone, "_I'm here without any intention of killing anyone. I'm here to assist._"

"Assist?" Mio angrily replied. "Isn't this a joke? A Neuroi assists us?"

"_Believe or not, your comrades need you to continue flying again,_" the Neuroi ignored Mio's anger. "_And I'm here to fulfill their wish._" The Neuroi put its hand on Mio's chest, and a bright crimson light lit up. After that, violet light started emitting from Mio's magical eye. She felt a surge of energy flowing in her blood vessels. Her body seemed lighter, and her familiar appeared.

"My magic," surprised Mio said. "It is… back?"

"_Basically, yes,_" said the Neuroi. "_However, you can only use that damn sword of yours once,_" as it took out Mio's lost katana, the Reppumaru. It put the sword beside Mio, right next to her current one. "_Only once. After that, there is no way to recover your magic anymore. Use your last chance wisely. Besides, you can't use shield, so don't rush yourself._"

Mio still laid on the bed, she couldn't believe what she just experienced. "Who… who are you?"

"_A friendly Neuroi,_" the Neuroi replied. "_Your little puppy, Miyafuji Yoshika, is waiting. You should pick her up._"

"Mi-Miyafuji? You also recovered her magic?"

"_You should take care of __Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke,_" the Neuroi ignored Mio again and started walking out. "_She needs you on her side._"

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><p><em><strong>Notes:<strong>_

Stalingrad: A city in Russia, named after Joseph Stalin, a Premier of Soviet Union. Now Volgograd.

Nagato-class Striker Battleship is based on Nagato-class Battleship of Japan. Yamato-class was preceded by Nagato-class, but in my fan-fiction, Nagato-class Striker Battleship is Yamato-class' successor.

Admiral Yamamoto Yukiko: Original character. Based on Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku, commander of Nagato Battleship. In this fan-fiction, Admiral Yukiko had the highest rank as a Strike Witch, above Air Commodore Galland.


	2. Chapter 1: Nagato

**Author's Notes: Sorry for being so late, however I'm having a tight schedule. After all, this chapter is pretty long (in my opinion). Thanks for following me.**

**Credits: Zoids Fanatic (Beta-reading), my friend (not in FFN, for grammar checking)**

**Side notes: Time changed to compatible with the series.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Nagato<strong>

August 1945, Romagna. 501st Joint Fighter Wing base.

It was a normal morning as usual. Outside, rays of Mediterranean light flowed to the ground. Many flowers were blooming as they welcomed the sun light. No one could think this old building was a military base; everything was so tranquil. After 501st's victory and the destruction of Neuroi hive over Romagna, peace had at last returned to this country.

At that time, a Witch returned from her usual night patrol. Alexandra Vladimirovna Litvyak, called as Sanya by her friends, landed in the base's hangar as she yawned tiredly. Slowly disengaging her Striker Unit and setting the Fliegerhammer into the launcher's armory, she walked back to her room, or, in fact, her beloved friend Eila's room. Opening the door, she striped her uniform off and landed on the bed, startling the sleeping Eila.

"Not again," Eila murmured as she rubbed her hair. Then, she carefully did her daily job; covering Sanya with blanket as her friend started sleeping soundly. "Only for today, okay?" No one knew how often this "Only for today" was said, even Eila had lost count about this.

Eila did some stretching after leaving the bed, and then she gathered Sanya's clothes and folded them neatly. She put the clothes on the bed and started dressing herself. After that, Eila walked out of her room, carefully closing the door so that she wouldn't wake Sanya up. Finally, she headed to the dining room.

"Early, huh?" a brown haired Karlsland Witch named Gertrud Barkhorn greeted Eila as she entered the room. Sitting beside Gertrud was her companion, Erica Hartmann. The blonde was sleeping while waiting for breakfast.

"Probably so," replied Eila. "You also get up early as usual. Hey, what are we having for breakfast, Lynne?"

"Usual Britannian breakfast," the Britannian girl replied from the kitchen. "Eila, could you help me in setting the table?"

"Aye, aye," said Eila, then she grinned mischievously upon entering the kitchen. Then, she suddenly grabbed Lynette's breasts from behind, causing the poor girl to scream. "Kyaaa! What are you doing, Eila?"

"Hmm…" Eila kept groping as she said. "Although they are already big, you haven't grown much. We haven't engaged with Neuroi recently, so nutrition should concentrate on these two! Probably they lack of … Yoshika's nutrition, don't they?"

"Enough of that, please?" Lynette protested as she broke away from Eila.

"Okay, okay," Eila apologized. "Let me bring the food."

At that time, the 501st commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke with the Gallian Witch Perrine-H Clostermann entered the dining room.

"Good morning, Commander," greeted Barkhorn. "And Perrine, good morning as well."

"Mornin'…" Hartmann tiredly followed Barkhorn's words.

"Good morning, Barkhorn and Hartmann," said Minna. She took a seat next to Barkhorn, and Perrine quietly sat beside Minna.

"Say, Perrine," Hartmann started opening her eyes. "You are so quiet without Major around. This is not Perrine I know…"

"Wha…" muttered Perrine as she blushed. "I'm not like that."

"Honestly, we have lost the two Fuso Witches," Barkhorn butted in. "Major Sakamoto is an experienced soldier, while Miyafuji has her own potential. If they were still Witches, they might achieve more success."

"Hey, Trude," said Hartmann. "You miss 'em, right?"

"Sh-shut up!" Gertrud yelled as her cheeks turned red. "It is normal for me to be worried about this wing!"

"Hee hee, dishonest Trude is missing Yoshika-" Erica joked, but her words were cut off from a sound of dishes' cracking.

"Please…" said Lynette, her eyes were turning red as tears flowed down her cheeks. "I don't want to hear about this anymore… I… I was such a useless Witch… If I had been more useful, Major Sakamoto and Yoshika-chan wouldn't have lost their magic…"

"Sorry, Lynne," apologized Erica. "It is not like they were dead, right? They are just retired."

"Erica is right, there is no need for regrets," said Minna. "You should start the breakfast now, we will have emergency meeting right after that."

"Emergency?" asked Eila.

"Yes," Minna replied. "However, it may be good news for us."

"Can you tell us what it is?" asked Barkhorn curiously.

"Ara ara, wait until the meeting," giggled Minna. "I fear that you won't be able to eat after hearing that."

*** [Strike Witches] ***

"WHAT?" the Witches asked in unison. "Major… Major Sakamoto is back?" Barkhorn, Hartmann, Charlotte and Eila asked as they couldn't believe what they just heard, while Perrine couldn't hold her happiness. Sanya and Lucchini were awakened by the unbelievable news.

"But… but how?" asked Lynette. "Shouldn't Major Sakamoto have lost her magic?"

"Apparently, she has lost her magic," Minna continued. "However, as the Fuso scientists introduced their flying battleship called Nagato without using Neuroi technology, Major Sakamoto will be the second-in-command. Her leadership is too valuable for the Fuso Army."

"Flying battleship?" asked Hartmann. "Is that a bluff? I have seen the failure of the Warlock and the destruction Fuso Yamato Battleship, so I wonder if their flying one could work."

"No," continued Minna. "Their battleship is operated by the Witches entirely, even their Admiral Yamamoto Yukiko is the ship's commander. I don't know much about how the Nagato works, but it seemed her maiden flight turned out to have some good results. The Fuso Empire will test its firepower in the war with the Neuroi on Kiev of Orussia. We will assist Major Sakamoto's fleet in flanks and supports. If this test assault is a success, they will continue helping us in liberating Karlsland!"

"That is it!" Barkhorn said happily. She was waiting until the day her homeland could be freed from Neuroi. "We will see if their big girl is another failure or not! I just wonder how the Fuso could lift even a battleship into the air without a Neuroi core. Is it as big as their Yamato?"

"I won't doubt that," said Sanya. "Since Dr. Miyafuji has created the Striker Unit, I'm not amazed if Fuso scientists could build a flying battleship."

"I agree with Sanya!" Eila followed up on Sanya. "I meant, their technology is undeniably advanced…"

"I don't care much about a flying ship," said Shirley. "Unless it is fast, meh…"

"What… What about Yoshika-chan?" asked Lynette. "Is she with Major Sakamoto?"

"Yeah," nodded Lucchini. "Will Yoshika come along? I wonder how grown she is…"

"I'm sorry to say that she won't participate anymore," replied Minna. "She has lost her magic, so she wouldn't, and shouldn't come." Lynette solemnly gave out a sigh, and Gertrud seemed disappointed. "By the way, the ship will arrive at Kiev in a few hours. Air Commodore Galland will give us permission to sortie and regroup with Major Sakamoto when the Nagato is ready. You should prepare now, even pack yourselves. 501st JFW will join with the Fuso fleet during this mission. Any objection?"

"No, ma'am!"

"Okay. 501st JFW, dismissed!"

"Ma'am!"

*** [Strike Witches] ***

Somewhere else on the sky of Orussia, on board of Nagato.

The hovering flagship of Fuso was heading to Kiev, and she would start her first battle there. As the lead ship of her class, the Nagato still had the shape of a battleship but with a smaller size and had some differences to reduce most air resistance. There were four engines beneath the ship, each had magical propeller. There were also two 410 mm turrets, two 127 mm anti-aircraft guns with 6 mounted Type 92 heavy machine guns. Each battery had a Witch stationed there, and the Witches switched duty every 5 hours. Along with two commanders, eight engine operators, four flank-supporting Witches, the Nagato needed at least 34 Witches with 4 mechanics, which resulted in 38 complements in total. Compared to Yamato-class, of which the complements could reach over 2700, the Nagato could operate with fewer personnel. Not only that, Nagato could transport at least 100 fully armed Witches. Therefore the Fuso's flagship received a lot of expectation. However, at that time, one of the two commanders wasn't present.

"Suddenly Mio-senpai left the ship before departure," said Yukiko. "Although she promised she would catch up with us, I shouldn't have given her permission to leave." Then Yukiko sighed. The Fuso Admiral was at her eightteen, but her appearance seemed more mature than she was. Her blue, deep eyes were like sapphires, which showed great determination. Her silky silver hair hanged on her shoulders, and her curves stood out on her slender body.

"What does she have to do?" a Witch asked, appeared to be Flight Lieutenant Takei Junko. "Mio has never done anything like this before."

"I don't know, but it seemed she was in a hurry," continued Yukiko. "Luckily that you are here, Junko-chan. Although you were supposed to be a flanking Witch."

"Nah, Yukiko, it is my duty. Beside, to command such battleship, you will be stressed. About Mio, she cannot use her magic anymore, so it will be hard for her to be a second-in-command."

"I agree, but she can be our strategist. Of course, along with you."

Suddenly the alarm resounded. "What is happening?" asked Junko.

"Neuroi!" yelled Yukiko, as she put her legs into the Striker-like controller. She channeled her magic, then owl's tail appeared as her hair became buff-brown, some owl tuft popped out from her ears. "I'm not used to fight in day time. Junko, get in position! I will start finding the Neuroi, it will take a while!"

"Yes, ma'am!" then Junko ran to the hangar. The other three flanking Witches had already entered their own Strikers.

"Flight Lieutenant Takei!" a Witch greeted Junko.

"Pilot Officer Suwa, Nakajima and Kaneyoshi!" said Junko. "A number of Neuroi is approaching us, and Admiral Yamamoto is trying to analyze their strength!"

"Ma'am!" the three Witches replied in unison and opened the hangar's door, flying out and keeping covering for the Nagato.

"Nagato fleet attention!" said Yukiko through her intercom from the command room. "There are a large number of Neuroi at one o'clock direction, altitude 9000. They are approaching us from 150 kilometres away at the speed of 750 kph. Estimate that we will confront them in 6 minutes! All batteries must be locked and loaded! Slow the engines down and get ready for the clash! Enemies might outnumber us, but we have the Nagato on our side. Keep sticking to the formation, I have sent reinforcement request. Our companions from 501st JFW and 502nd JFW will soon accompany us!"

"Copy that," Junko replied and flew out of the hangar, joining the three Witches. "Amaki, you go and support Nishiki! Kunieda, cover me!"

"Roger that!" the three Witches replied and they started dividing into two groups, covering both sides of the Nagato.

"Enemy in sight, their vanguards are four scouting Neuroi!" said an observer Witch on Nagato.

"Weapons free in thirty seconds," said Yukiko. "I repeat, weapons free in thirty seconds. Flight Lieutenant Takei's squadron, stay low profile!"

"Acknowledge," said Junko, as she with Kaneyoshi hid themselves in the clouds on the left. Amaki and Nishiki also raised their altitude to get out of the Neuroi's sight.

From the command room, Yukiko spotted the Neuroi coming from the front. Four large-type in the shape of fighters approached the Nagato at high speed, all covered with black hexagons, except the head and some parts on their wings with red ones as their firepower. The lead Neuroi, seeming to be the most aggressive, barraged the Nagato with its energy beams.

"Attack head-on, heh?" said Yukiko as she channeled her magic into her controller. A huge shield appeared in front of Nagato, deflecting the hazardous blasts away.

"Open fire!" yelled Yukiko. "AA batteries and mounted machine gunners, open fire!" As she finished her words, all Witches controlling guns and turrets started channeling magic into their weapons and fired at the Neuroi. The four lead Neuroi were quickly destroyed.

"Hold your fire," said Yukiko. "I repeat, hold your fire. There are more awaiting for us, expecting to have more large-type Neuroi or even capital ones. Junko, keep staying on low profile."

After the Nagato left the clouds, the Witches found what they expected. There were a lot of Neuroi: they consisted of three groups in V formation, while each group was in tight formation. The main group had a capital Neuroi taking the shape of a huge destroyer, which could be identified as a Soobrazitelny-class Destroyer of Orussia. The rest were about fifty large-type Neuroi and their drones covering them.

"So they use massive assault on us," Yukiko muttered. "All batteries, try to buy time until reinforcements arrive. Junko, attack them from flanks and focus on their capital!"

"Affirmative!" replied Junko through intercom, as she and the three Witches splited into two directions.

The battle between Nagato and the Neuroi became more and more violent. Although the Nagato's shield could endure the massive attack from her enemy for the moment, the Neuroi were outnumbered the Witches. Neuroi drones kept intercepting the Witches' lines of fire, protecting the capital and the large-type Neuroi from being damaged. Suddenly, the black destroyer – as the Neuroi's capital unit – charged up its beams and released a massive blast of energy at the Nagato. Miraculously, in spite of her large size, the battleship dodged the attack by turning slightly to the right. A part of the magical shield got incinerated in the maneuver.

"That was closed," said Yukiko. "Luckily that this big girl has high mobility, or we would have been burnt."

"Admiral," said Junko. "It seemed it will take a while before that Neuroi could fire again. As most of the drones were on front line, I will take this chance to clear some of their large-type units."

"Okay, but don't do anything reckless," replied Yukiko. "All AA batteries and machine gunners, clear the sky for the main turrets to back up Flight Lieutenant Takei!"

Junko and her squadron rushed from the flank of the Neuroi's main formation. Four of them took down their enemy one by one, and for each large-type destroyed, their drones automatically shattered into crystal-like shards. However, as more and more drones spawning from their parents, it was hard for the Witches to continue the ambush. Meanwhile, the capital Neuroi released more tremendous beams, and the Nagato could only dodge them.

"Admiral Yamamoto, this is Wing Commander Wilcke," Yukiko startled as she heard through her intercom. "Excuse us for the late arrival, but the 501st is here to support the Nagato!" However, Minna heard some sobbing sound through the radio. "Eh?"

"Thanks goodness," replied Yukiko, her voice was choked by tears. "I feared that my first mission with Nagato would end here…"

"Don't worry, Admiral," Minna calmed her. "We will cover the Nagato and somehow try to support Junko." Minna and the 501st appeared from the south-west, expecting for the return of their Major. "Sanya, Eila, Lynne, follow me to attack their main formation! Hartmann, Perrine and Lucchini, head to the ship and help Admiral to clear the drones! Barkhorn and Shirley, you two bring our luggage on board, after that your weapons are free!"

"Yes, ma'am!" the Witches replied in unison.

"Ha, I didn't expect the Fuso Admiral could be such a crybaby," giggled Erica. "It must be fun to tease her!" She said, as Lucchini moved her hands as if she was groping with her expression of "wonder how big she is".

"Frau, Lucchini, behave properly!" Gertrud yelled at Erica. "She is our superior!"

"'kay, 'kay," sighed Erica as she approached the swarm of drones. "Sturm!" she yelled as gusts of wind were released from her hands, cleared a huge amount of Neuroi and allowed the main turrets of Nagato to fire at the Neuroi's main formation.

Meanwhile, Minna and her squadron approached the main formation of Neuroi. "Good to see you again, Takei," Minna greeted the Fuso Witch.

"Perfect timing, Wing Commander Minna," replied Junko. "I'm sorry about Admiral, she is always like that. Very strong and stable outside, but in fact she is fragile and sentimental inside."

"It is not a problem," said Minna. "Should we start now? Eila, could you cover Sanya? We will need her Fliegerhammer. Lynne, I will cover you, use your sniper rifle to clear them."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Sanya with her Fliegerhammer released a barrage of rockets upon the large-type Neuroi. The crippled aliens gave out a shriek, then fired their beams at the Orussian Witch, though unable to hit her due to her movement. Her friend Eila flew nearby, giving cover fire. Using future predicting magic, Eila could dodge Neuroi's blasts without using her shield.

Suddenly, Eila "saw" something, and she turned at Sanya. A drone was charging at her friend from behind, letting out a red beam of energy. She rushed at Sanya, but it was too late. Even Sanya didn't have time to raise her shield. Everything was slow down like a slow-motion film under the eyes of all nearby witnesses.

"SANYA!"

* * *

><p><em><strong>Notes:<strong>_

V formation: A common formation of aircrafts that took the shape of the letter "V".

Tight formation: A formation of diamond shape which consists of 16 aircrafts.

AA: Anti-air weapons, a small note in case somebody doesn't know.

Type 92 HMG: Heavy machine guns used by the Japanese during WW2. Credits to Zoids Fanatic for the suggestion.

Kaneyoshi Kunieda: Original character. Not based on any character, last name from Yoshika's archetype.

**Author's Note: Sorry about having a plot rush here and lacking of romance (meh), however I need to keep everything in place. Second chapter is being written, hope I can finish that in time.**


	3. Chapter 2: The Return

**Author's Note: Sorry for this slow update, however it seems this story will go hiatus for a while. I don't know when I will come back, probably about one month, but it can be three months, who know? By the way, please enjoy this chapter. Still plot-rushing to settle everything. I can't promise anything yet anyway.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: The Premonition<strong>

Eila and Sanya were in their room. After the breakfast, the two Witches, as well as the rest of 501st Joint Fighter Wing, received an order from Air Commodore Galland to join force with Fuso fleet Nagato, starting the operation to liberate the Orussian city of Kiev.

Sanya was humming her song, _Sanya no Uta_, as she packed up her luggage. Meanwhile, Eila took up some clothes from the shelf, quickly folding and putting them in her case.

"Oh, I forgot to do some fortune reading," said Eila. That was her daily routine for, as she did it at least once everyday. Taking out her tarot deck from her pocket, she started shuffling it and then, she spread three cards out and laid them on the table. After that, she picked up the first card. That was the Lovers Arcana. Eila started blushing.

"What is it?" Sanya turned to Eila, and her question startled her friend.

"Ah… Uh…" Eila stuttered and hid the card quickly. "It… It is nothing. The first card describes what happened in the past, so I don't think this card is interesting."

"So that is it…" Sanya said softly. "Let's flip the next card, Eila."

"_Well, the Lovers Arcana is here so the next might not be a problem,_" Eila thought to herself as she put the first card into the deck, carefully shuffled it again so that Sanya couldn't know the detail of the Arcana. "The second card will stand for the present," she talked to Sanya. "Let see if it is correct or not." And with that the second card was flipped, revealing the Wheel of Fortune.

"What is its meaning?" Sanya asked curiously.

"Wheel of Fortune," replied Eila. "Stands for destiny and fate, or precisely, a sudden turn of events or a turning point."

"So it is about the arrangement to Fuso fleet today. Amazing, Eila!"

"Ah… haha," Eila laughed while turning her face away, trying not to show her redden cheeks. "Well, that is my magic anyway. It is not that amazing, Sanya."

"Let's continue, Eila. I can't wait to know the last card's detail. Since the first card represents the past, the second the present, so the third card will show the future, won't it?"

"Yeah, let's flip the last card." Eila said as she put her right hand on the last tarot card, attempting to flip it up. However, as she was picking up the card, she felt a chill ran down her spine. Sweats began pouring down her face, as her hand was trembling. She was seeing something, but everything was too blurred.

"What's wrong, Eila?" Sanya nervously asked Eila.

"Ah, well, nothing," Eila lied. "Anyway, let's see the future." Eila tried to emphasize the last word and make a serious expression, only to receive a giggle from her Orussian partner. The third card was flipped, revealing a skeleton in black armor who was riding a white horse. Surrounding it was dead and dying people. A roman number, XIII, was on the head of the card, while on the bottom there was the name of this Arcana: Death.

"It… It can't be…" Eila murmured. Her hand was shaking while holding the Death Arcana.

"What do you mean, Eila?" Sanya nervously asked.

"I… I have drawn this card three days in a row," Eila replied. "Death Arcana, stands for the end and death… It must be a premonition, Sanya! I… I have a bad feeling about this!"

"Eila, please calm down," Sanya calmed her friend. "This might be a coincidence or a premonition, I don't know. However, since this is your magic, we can do something to prevent that future."

"But… But what happens if we can't prevent it? What if-" Before Eila could finish, Sanya put a finger on the Suomish girl's lips. "It is not like you, Eila. You are just over-worrying. If you keep thinking about death, then death will come eventually. So there is no need for worrying."

Eila stooped her head down, trying to hide her redden cheeks from embarrassment. "You are right, Sanya," She muttered, but still let out a sigh of nervousness.

"Girls, have you finished?" Barkhorn's voice echoed in the hall. "We got permission to leave this b- Hartmann! You haven't finished cleaning your mess?"

"I don't need them anyway, so I'm leaving these stuffs here," Erica replied lazily.

"HARTMANN!"

*** [Strike Witches] ***

"SANYA!"

The beam struck Sanya as the drone was crushed by Lynette's Boys Rifle. The fragments and smokes covered the position where the Orussian Witch was.

"No… Sanya," Eila's words of disbelief were stroke by her own tears. Suddenly, blue light emitted from the smoke, catching everyone's attention.

"_Oh thanks God,_" Minna thought. "_But how could she react that fast?_"

While the Commander looked at the smoke in disbelief, Eila approached the smoke, trying to relieve herself by finding Sanya in the smoke. As the smoke started fading out, only the pale Sanya remained.

"Sanya!" Eila cried in relief though suddenly stopped. All nearby Witches also gasped in shock. There was another Witch hovering next to Sanya, her right hand raised as if to create a shield for herself and Sanya. She was wearing a blue Orussian Air Force uniform, wielding a PPSh-41 submachine gun in her right hand. On her feet was an unknown type of Striker which could be identified as a MiG variant. Different from a normal Striker Unit, these Strikers didn't have magical propellers. However, what surprised the other Witches wasn't that Jet Striker, it was the Witch herself. She had long silver hair, black cat ears and long black tail. Her dark green eyes were deep and cold. And, at last, this was the most surprising thing even to Eila and Sanya: Her face was too similar to the Suomish Witch from the 501st.

"You…" Eila's eyes were widened as if she was talking to her other self on mirror. The newcomer was exactly the same as Eila, except for her hair and eyes.

"Are you alright?" The strange Orussian Witch asked her fellow. Sanya felt her eyes were being held captive by the other girl's cold and deep eyes.

A shriek broke the silence. A large-type Neuroi left its formation and headed to the newcomer's back in attempt of crushing both Orussian Witches. Drones also spawned from its wings, swarming the sky by their massive number.

"WATCH OUT!" Eila cried, raising her MG-42 to giving cover fire to the Witches. However, before she could pull the trigger, something soared in the air and drilled through the swarm of Neuroi. Many huge gusts of wind followed the object, crushing all of the Neuroi, even the large-type one, and sucking the crystal-like fragments with them to the ground beneath.

"Are you alright?" The stranger kept repeating her question without turning back to look at the destruction of the Neuroi attempting to backstab her. Sanya nodded silently, trembling after seeing the Neuroi destroyed under the brutal force.

"Sanya, thanks goodness," Eila hugged Sanya from behind; her eyes were wet and red because of crying.

"Sorry, Eila," Sanya apologized.

"SCREW YOU, ELENA!" A deafening voice resounded from the strange Witch, however it seemed that wasn't her voice since she put out an intercom by her right hand and covered her right ear by her other hand. She turned herself around, looking at another Witch far away.

"Erna, please stop yelling at my ear," the stranger replied through the intercom. Her voice was soft and low so that Eila and Sanya could barely hear her talk.

The other newcomer approached the three Witches. She wore a black Luftwaffe uniform, wielding a FG-42 battle rifle and a Me 109 Striker. She had brown short hair though her hair tips were black.

"Elena, that was reckless!" The Karlslander Witch yelled at her Orussian comrade. "You was about to be killed by that Neuroi! If I weren't there you could be killed, you know?"

"Erna, I know that," the Witch named Elena replied. "I also know you will be there and give me cover fire."

"I… I…" Erna stuttered as her cheeks became red. "IT IS NOT LIKE I'M WORRYING ABOUT YOU!"

"Erna, calm down," another voice resounded from the intercom. "Charlotte and I have arrived the Nagato and unloaded your luggage. We will come to you right now, so hold your position. And where is Frederica?"

"Geez Helma, you are late," Erna sighed. "By the time you arrived at the Nagato I have already killed four large-type Neuroi. Frederica is nowhere to be found, as usua-" Then an explosion cut off her words, coming along was a mischief and childish laugh. "FREDERICA!"

"Whoa, this is fun!" Another Witch yelled in the sky as she soared through the Neuroi formation, her shield formed a cone instead a regular round one. The cone shield crushed every Neuroi on its wake as well as protected the little Witch from their beams. The mischief girl had long, black twin-tails and wore white shirt with a black prototype Jet Striker.

"FREDERICA!" Erna yelled again. "Come back to here at once! The Squadron Leader told us to hold our position!"

"Well, if that is Frederica then let her be," Helma said to Erna as she arrived into the battlefield. Her face was similar to Erna, except for her hair, which was blonde with twin-tails. She also wore black Luftwaffe uniform like Erna with a Me 262 Striker, wielding two MP-44s with drum magazines. Following her was another Witch in blue uniform of Gallia, the same as Perrine's.

"HELMA!" Erna yelled again. "You should be strict! I don't know why you got promoted to Squadron Leader with that slacking attitude!"

"Excuse me," Minna said as she and Lynette approached the witches in confusion. "But who are you girls?"

"Ah, I'm sorry that I forgot introducing us," Helma replied and received a sigh from Erna. "I'm Helma Thorvald, Squadron Leader of Allied Special Task Force, under direct command of Air Commodore Galland. 502nd JFW is having trouble there, so they can't leave their position. We were ordered to join force with Nagato and 501st JFW. And you might be Wing Commander Minna-Dietlinde Wilcke of the 501st, right?"

"You are right," said Minna. "You can call me by my name."

"By the way, now we are under your direct command as Air Commodore Galland told us, Commander," Erna said. "Just for you to know, I can't trust Helma's commands."

"Okay, I got it," Minna nodded. "All units, concentrate on clearing the large-type, we will deal with the capital Neuroi later!"

"Yes, ma'am!" All of the Witches responded as they spread out in four squadrons, each of them destroyed the Neuroi one-by-one.

"_This girl is strange,_" Eila thought to herself as she flew along with Sanya and Elena. "_She is… too similar to me. It is too strange._"

"Flying Officer Litvyak," Elena said, startling both girls. "Since you has heavy weapon, Flying Officer Juutilainen and I will give you cover fire."

"Just Sanya and Eila are fine," said Eila. "By the way, how could you know our name?"

"I have my own source," Elena replied in her soft voice. "That Neuroi is our target," she pointed at a ray-shaped alien. "Make sure you don't make another mistake like that again, E-Eila. I can't be around your S-Sanya at all time." Elena's cheeks started blushing each time she called the other two by their first name, and she turned her face away.

"I know," Eila gritted her teeth.

While the other Witches were dealing with the large-type Neuroi, a certain Karlslander sniper approached the black hovering destroyer.

"Heh heh," Erna grinned. "This big one is mine!" Then she pointed her FG-42 at the capital Neuroi. The rifle glowed as she channeled her magic into it, causing the air around her to move violently.

"That…" Minna couldn't find her word to describe what her eyes were seeing.

"Yes, that is her ultimate spell," said Helma. "My twin sister can control the flow of the air and channel it into one bullet in the cost of a significant amount of magic. Extremely high devastation in very wide range, so I think we should get out of her line of fire."

"STURMKUGEL!" Erna yelled as she pulled the trigger. The projectile traveled at amazing speed, bringing a lot of gusts of wind with it like the previous shot which protected Elena and Sanya. The wind span like a drill, crushing all of drones on its wake. However, when the bullet reached the capital Neuroi, it was stopped immediately and the wind died down after that, leaving only a small scratch on the black alien that was soon repaired.

"What?" Erna asked in disbelief. "It is impossible!"

"Commander Minna!" yelled Helma. "We need to change our plan! Its armor is too thick, even Erma's Sturmkugel can't penetrate it!"

"We can't even spot its core," Minna said. "This is bad; we can't destroy it at this rate."

"I will try to approach that Neuroi," Yukiko finally spoke up through her intercom. "When it falls under cannons' effective range, I think the Nagato can blow it up."

"Then,

Suddenly, the Neuroi charged another energy ball, attempting to fire it at the Nagato battleship. The beam was released, heading to the hovering ship and incinerating all unfortunate drones. The Nagato tried to maneuver, but it seemed it was too late.

"NO!" Junko cried.

"_They are here,_"

An unknown silhouette charged from behind the Nagato to its front at fantastic speed. A huge shield was created after that, infracting the hazard beam to many smaller ones away from the ship. After the blast, the shield was recognized: It belonged to a Fuso Witch. Another one followed the first one, flying next to the shielding girl.

"Is that…?" Yukiko asked to herself in her commanding room.

"It can't be…" said Barkhorn, who was flying near the two newcomers.

The shield vanished, and its owner was panting. She had short brown hair, wore a white sailor uniform with blue swimsuit beneath and wielded a 13 mm Type 99-2-2 machine gun. Next to her was another Witch in her twenties, her long black hair floated in the breeze. She held two katana at her back. Her right eye was violet while her other one was black.

"Major Sakamoto!" Perrine cried out in shock and happiness.

"Major!" Shirley followed Perrine.

"Major and Yoshika!" Lucchini yelled when she saw her two comrades and also friends.

Barkhorn approached the two Fuso Witches. "Good to see you again, Major Sakamoto and Miyafuji," she said. "But how could you…"

"It is a long story, Barkhorn-san," Yoshika replied. "Sakamoto-san, could you lend me your Reppumaru? You can't use it anyway, and since your magic is not stable yet, you can't participate in this battle."

"Hahaha," Mio let out her distinct laugh. "Right, since you have performed Shin Reppuzan before, I will lend you this time. Since you don't have the Magnificent Lightning now, don't overdo it. That is my order!" Then Mio unsheathed the red-handled katana and gave it to the younger girl. "By the way, the core is at the center of this destroyer-formed Neuroi. Just cut it in half and then it will be destroyed."

"Thank you," Yoshika took the sword. "Miyafuji Yoshika, heading out to engage the Neuroi!"

The young Fuso charged at the huge Neuroi at high speed. The capital Neuroi, knowing the little girl was a threat for it, spawned another swarm of drones. The drones tried to intercept Yoshika by ramming or fire their beams at her, but all of their attacks were deflected by her strong shield.

"All units, cover Miyafuji!" Minna yelled. The other Witches nodded as they approached the swarm, destroying them and opening a path for Yoshika.

Yoshika approached the last standing Neuroi. Her shield faded out as the katana in her hands glowed under the flood of magic. "REPPUZAN!" Yoshika cried out as she slashed the air, a huge, white wave of magic was released from the katana. It cut the huge Neuroi into two pieces like cutting off butter. The two wrecked pieces then shattered into glass-like shards and fell down into the ground beneath. Yoshika panted after using the Reppumaru, as it drained her magic too much. Everything was blurred under her eyes. She fell down along with the fragments, the Strikers detached themselves from her legs.

"_The future has been changed,"_

"...san?" Yoshika mumbled before she passed out.

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><p><strong>References:<strong>

Sanya no Uta: Sanya's song, the song that her father composed for her (canon)

Tarot reading: I'm not really sure about this, just done some researching on google and wikipedia. The way Eila read future might not right, but I have tried to stick to the tarot rules as much as I could.

PPSh-41: A type of submachine guns which was used commonly by the USSR during WWII.

MiG: A type of fighters made in Russia.

FG-42: Battle rifle used by the Fallschirmjäger (Luftwaffe) during WWII. Considered to be one of the most advanced weapons during this war.

Me 109, Me 262: Types of fighters which was used commonly by Germany during WWII.

MP-44: Assault rifle used by Germany during WWII. Drum magazine is a modified from the normal box magazine, which can contain more ammunitions (MP-44 didn't have drum magazine in real life)

Sturmkugel: A rough translate from "Storm Bullet" in German. I'm not sure about this translation.


End file.
